Tent



June 7, 1927.

3. B. LEFFERT TENT Filed June 4. 1924 2 Shuts-Sheet 1 Cl ZF/W/IZZ June 7, 1927;

c. a. LEFFERT TENT Filed Jun 4, 1924 2 Shoots-Sheet. 2

Patented June 7, 1927.

UNITED 'fSfTA TES 1,631,215 PATENT mac- 7 CHARLES 13.;LEF17ERT, orcnrcaeo, rumors, assrenon T unirnn STATES 'rn'n'r &.

AWNING COMPANY, or onrcaeo, rumors, A conrona'rron or ILLINOIS.

TENT. i

Application filed June 4,

My invention relates generally to improvements in tents'but relates more'particularly to improvements in so called umbrella tents.

The general object of my invention is to provide an umbrellaxtent' of such construction that there shall be available for use the greatest amount of-space' It isalso an object of my invention to provide a tent of this kind which shall be so constructed that it shall be better adapted to withstand the varying conditions to which it is subjected in use.

Another object of my inventionis to provide a tentot' this character which shall be of such construction that it can be quickly and easily erected, even by one person and which shall be rigid and Weathertight when erected.

I aim also to provide a structure which can be used with or without a center pole, as desired.

My invention consists generally ina tent of the form, arrangement, construction and co operation of the parts whereby the above named objects, together with others that will appear hereinafter, are attainable, and my invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate what-I consider,

at the present time, to be the preferredembodiment thereof. In said drawings:

Figf 1 is a perspective view of a tent p trally and vertically arranged short pole embodying my invention.

Fig. .2 is 'adetail view of the top of the frame structure.

Fig. 3' is a detail view of the outerbrace construction. 7 v

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section through the tent. s

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the frame structure at the juncture of the tent side and top.

Fig. 6 Is a poles; and

v Fig. 7 along the line 77;of Fig. 6; 7

It has long bee'ndesir'able to provide a" tent which would be compact "so {that it could easily be carried, say on'th'e running board of an automobile, which should be of such construction that it-could be nickly and easily erected so that cou d be detail view, partly in section and partly in elevation of the telescopic tent is a sectional view substantially 192 4. swarm. 717,731

used by auto campers or others who usually break camp frequently and which should be rigid and durable: I 1

'I have devisedf such a tent and which in use has proven. to be admirably adapted to such requirements.

Referring now to the drawings for the details of construction, the walls of the tent, of which there are four" in the illustrated construction, bear the reference character 1. They preferably extend in a generally upright direction but also inwardly slightly. The top 2 is composed of four substantially triangular pieces which meet at the center and which extend downwardly and outwardly, being joined to the walls along the line 3.

The tent ram'e work comprises four'telescopic poles 4, of special construction, which are arranged at the tour corners of th'etent. Supported thereon is a substantially hori- Zontally disposed frame work composed of four arms 5- which, at their outer ends are pivotally secured to bracket members 6 at 6% The-bracket members 6 have shank portions 7 which fit into thetop member of the telescopic poles 4.

Als'0 secured to the bracket members 6, as by means otthe pins 9, are a plurality of upwardly and inwardly extending members 8. The upper ends of the members 8 are secured to the fixture 10'by means of the pins 11. The fixture 10 is secured to a cenmember 12Whl0h, at its upper end, extends through a grommet 13 in the center of the top of the tent. and which, at its lower end,

arms inward until the extreme ends or tips 19 engage the short center pole 12.- The can- 'vas of the tent, being ina stretched condition, causes inward-pressure on the arms 5,.causing them automatically to .clutch the short center pole. In'thismanner a frame construction is provided wherewith proper on the short pole mem support is given without the necessity of the usual center pole support from the ground. The tent space is, therefore, better adapted for use. I I i The bracketsG are'held in place'b hook portion which extends through grommet 21 which are preferably located at the corners of the tent, and where the top and sides meet. This hook portion also serves as a convenient means of attaching guy or staying ropes, if desired.

- 1 preferably provide means for conveniently locking the telescopic poles 4 in desired condition. The details of this mechanism are best shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Se-

.cured to the upper end of the lower pole member4 is a sleeve like member 22, the center bore 23 of which 1s of such size that it makes a nice sliding fit \viththe upper pole member 4. It will be understood that the upperp0le member 4 telescopes within the lower pole member 4. Tolock the poles 4 and 4 in any set position a slidable member 24 is provided. It has a curved face 25 adapted to engage the pole member 4. The member 22 is" provided with two vertically inclined faces 26, against which face portions 27 of the member 24 abut. By moving the member 24 downwardy it is pressed tightly against the pole member 4 and by movement upwardly it is backed away,-thus freeing the pole so that it can be removed entirely, or shifted to any desired position. A finger grip portion 28 is provided on the member 24 for convenient manipulation.

The-portion 28 is of such size that it can be conveniently tapped or struck with a stick, stone or almost any available device in case it isnecessary to fasten it more tightly than can be done with the hands or to release it. i i

To erect the tent auconvenient method of procedure is to stake down vthe four, corners, then to insert the short pole 12 into the centralopening in the top of the tent and toy insert the hooked ends 20 of the brackets 6 through the respective grommets 21. In this manner the frame structure composed of the arms 5, members 8 and short pole 12 are arranged within the top of the tent and while it is still limp or on the ground. As a next operation, one of the telescopic poles 4 is placed through the door or opening 30 of the tent and telescoped over the extreme lower end 31 of the central member 12 until it comes into engagement with a stop pin 32. With the adjustable pole in this position the whole tent can be lifted to vertical position, the central pole acting asa temporary prop. Then the three remaining telescopic poles can be telescoped .over the portions '7 of the brackets 6 and swungto vertical position. hen three of the poles have thus been placed in the cor- 11ers, the temporary center pole can be removed as the upper frame structure is now able tosupport the tent and the center pole is placed on the remaining bracket portion 7; thus providing the tent with four corner poles and leaving the center -of the tent free so that it may be'used to better advantage.

' As before stated, the member 14 is slidable on the short center. pole 12, the purpose of which is to permit the arms 5 to be swung upwardly at an angle .such as indicated by means of dotted lines in Figs. 4 and 5.. This is doneattimes to save the tent from-destructive stretching such as likely to occur if the tent were erected when it was moist or damp and then become thoroughly dried out which would tend to cause an abnormal stretching of the canvas. This abnormal pressure can be very readily relieved by simply pressing theslcere 14 slightly upward.

It is not necessary to remove any pa-rts or to loosen any nuts or other devices to accomplish this for the reason that the arms 5 are elutchcd on the member12 by the pres sure action before referred to. In this manner a very nice tensioning of the canvas can be secured such as will give the most satisfactory tentservice without danger of imposing undue vstrains thereon. a

Thetent can be easily erectedby a single" person in a' relatively short time. It can alsobe knocked down and the parts telescoped' in such relation that the whole tent can be made into a bundle of such size that it canbe carried on the running boardof an automobile, ifdesired. It will beunderstood thatthe poles 4 are telescoped entirely a-nd'that the sleeve 14'may be shoved into intimate relation with the fixture 10 when the parts'are to be-carried orshipped. I have thus provided a tent which is admirably adapted for use by automobilists or others who desire to make and break camp frequently. y

The manyadvantages of my tent .will beunderstood by those skilled in the art to which this appertains without further coma pole extending downwardly from the top, andarm members operatively engaging the canvas at their outer ends and ha ing their inner ends slidably supported for movement substantially in a radial direction.

3. A tent of the class described embodying therein corner poles, a top supporting frame supported thereby and a canvas covering carried by said poles and top frame, said top supporting frame including a pole extending downwardly from the top, and arm members operatively engaging the canvas at their outer ends and having their inner ends slidably supported for movement substantially in a radial direction, and being adapted to be raised and lowered along said centnally disposed pole.

A. A tent of the class described embodying therein corner poles, a top supporting frame comprising a short center pole section and radially extending canvas supporting arms and brace arms, said arms being pivotally connected at their inner ends to said pole,

brackets to which the outer ends of said canvas supporting arms and said brace arms are pivotally attached, said brackets being adapted for detachable connection with said corner poles, and a canvas covering carried by said corner poles and top frame, said. brackets including portions adapted to extend through openings in the canvas and to have secured thereto, guy members for the tent.

5. A tent of the class described embodying therein corner poles, a top supporting frame comprising a short center pole section and radially extending canvas supporting arms and brace arms, said canvas supporting arms being pivotally connected to the top end of center pole section and operatively connected at their outer ends to the outer ends of said brace arms and to said-corner poles, and a. canves covering carried by said corner poles and top frame, the inner ends of the brace arms being so connected to said center slidable'on the bottom end of said center pole, the inner ends of said brace arms being connected to said sleeve and so engaging the center pole section as to bind against the same under the action of said canvas covering.

7 In combination, a tent, a plurality of tent supporting rods pivoted together near the peak of the tent, a rod carried by the junction of the said rods and having a relatively short upwardly extending portion and a longer downwardly extending portion, the said short portion engaging the peak of the tent, a collar slidably mounted on the said downwardly extending portion, a plurality of tent spacing bars having their inner ends pivoted to the collar and having their outer ends engaging the corners of the tentv movement of the collar downwardly being adapted to force the bars outwardly against the tent to spread and support the tent umbrella-like, and a plurality of relatively long rods adapted to engage the first mentioned rods to support the tent in raised position on the ground.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 23 day of May, 1924.

CHARLES B. LEFFERT. 

